The bunker unearthed during excavations in Caen (Calvados, Normandy) was used by German Army to stay and was responsible for protecting and defend the access from the sea. It has long been hidden underground for over 60 years. It's a real-life time capsule!.

The city of Caen was perhaps the greatest major obstacle in the path of the Allied advance inland after their landings in Normandy, June 6th, 1944. Consequently it was a key objective for 3rd British Division, landing on Sword Beach. The Allies were unable to capture the strategically important city on D-Day, however, in the teeth of armored counter-attacks from 21st Panzer Division. Renewed attempts by 3rd Canadian Division on June 7th-8th were foiled by 12th SS Panzer Division 'Hitlerjugend', as were 7th British Armoured Division's thrusts towards the city on June 11th-14th.

On June 25th Operation 'Epsom' was launched to take Caen. Preceded by RAF Bomber Command attacks, further British and Canadian assaults on July 4th stalled before the whole of the city could be taken. On July 7th Operation 'Charnwood' forced the Germans to withdraw from northern Caen. A much heavier bombardment opened Operation 'Goodwood' on July 18th, in the course of which the Canadians finally managed to liberate the rest of Caen, by now largely demolished after five weeks of intensive fighting.

This bunker was discovered during the early houses demolition work in November 2015, when a backhoe bucket broke her on the thick walls of the bunker, almost buried under the neighboring street level of the Délivrande. The bunker was part of the Atlantic Wall, a network of 15,000 concrete bunkers that stretched from France to Denmark.

At the top of the forgotten bunker there are boots and costumes. Archaeologists are working since Tuesday morning, 8th March 2016, in this old German bunker. Cyrille Billard, Heritage Curator of the Regional Direction of Cultural Affairs (DRAC), has said this bunker was not listed in the inventories and was a isolated bunker. Caen featured anti air raid shelters, but there was any German bunker identified. This type of building were built on the coast. This bunker defended the entrance of Caen, along the road to the sea.

This bunker has a Tobruk, a sort of turret, from which a soldier could shoot. Mr. Billard says neither the turret nor the bunker roof remain, probably were destroyed when building houses in 1954 or 1955. As Mr. Billard says, this bunker is an opportunity to raise awareness of this kind of heritage, which had lost interest for archaeologists in the last 10 years. With the disappearance of the last witnesses, archeology can make a contribution to a better understanding of this period.